What do you stand for?

[Julum]

Gay rights and equality and things like that, because I'm gay.

 

[Saturnidae]

Bugs. Literally the most important thing in the world to me.

 

[Karpi]

My mission in life is to make people think about the effects of the choices they make. I don't even mean for it to be political sometimes, but it just appears that way when you actually think about what your actions do.

Do you go on drives just for fun or for needless things? Tragedy of the commons. Though each person may be aware that people driving cars causes pollution and climate change, they don't think about it because they're just one person and their actions don't have much of an impact. But guess what? Everyone else is thinking along those exact same lines, and those small numbers add up really quickly. If every person who had the conscious thought "my actions don't make a difference" decided not to waste gas rather than just doing it anyway, a lot of pollution wouldn't happen!

 

[Aulos]

Equality, as in fighting against sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and the like.

I also believe in standing for a strict separation of church and state. It is the only way to have true freedom of religion. Likewise (as it is very much a part of religious freedom) we can't have religion telling us how to live our lives by law. I really thought my nation was founded under that ideal.

 

[97SaturnSL1]

Do you go on drives just for fun or for needless things? Tragedy of the commons. Though each person may be aware that people driving cars causes pollution and climate change, they don't think about it because they're just one person and their actions don't have much of an impact. But guess what? Everyone else is thinking along those exact same lines, and those small numbers add up really quickly. If every person who had the conscious thought "my actions don't make a difference" decided not to waste gas rather than just doing it anyway, a lot of pollution wouldn't happen!

Most of the time i drive to go to school,work, shopping, or to a friends house. If the weather is nice, i will tend to go on a Sunday drive because i am a big automotive enthuisate and do enjoy driving. I do try to take our Saturn as much as possible because it is the most efficent, I do try to limit Idleing when ever i can such as waiting for a train or in a solid traffic jam, i make sure all of the used car parts and fluids are properly recycled and i do make sure the smog tests are up to date. I stand for that people should have the choice to choose what car they want to drive. There are a few electric cars i like but i would want something that is also fun, sporty and effocent as a daily driver. with the car being on of the largest purchases most people will make in thier life, i want that hard earned money to go to a car I want. Since we only live once, i do stand to be responcible but have fun at the same time too

 

[Capricious Equilibrium]

Another thing I stand for is love. A quote of my own;

Love is the apex of emotion, the summit of feelings, it's what unites us and fortifies us, yet can also split us and strip us down to our primal urges. It can make us feel as great, larger than life, inexplicably marvellous. It can ignore the things that divide us, create and destroy. Love is magical, beautiful, unpredictable, dangerous. It can make us feel like we're on the top of the world, or our own worse enemies. It inspires us, drives us, halts us, slows us. Love is everything.

 

[Sunburn]

I try to find ways to improve myself and learn new things every day, and I'm adamant about controlling my own emotions and impulses. Everything changes and humans are no exception, so if I'm not moving forward, I'm moving backward.

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

 

[Cat Luver]

I stand for No Texting while driving. I had a friend get killed by a distracted driver who was texting.

 

[Alpha71689]

Gay rights, pro-choice, breast cancer awareness and equality (this can probably be lumped with gay rights).

 

[Vivillon]

I do not want to start a religion war here, but I stand for God and all of his teachings. I am not one who will go around telling everybody how wonderful God is and trying to save everybody, but I try to live by his teachings and inspiring people to be more like me. It is through this way that we can spread the love of God, not by yelling at them to go to Church or Hell. I also stand for family, the right to live a life of your own choosing, and community. I believe in helping others, giving them the chance to live the life they want even if chance has not smiled upon them. I believe in truth.

 

[farewell friend]

Without making this an essay, I stand for a few things (mostly).
My religion, Islam, is one of them. The second one is the people of this world, the animals of this world, and the environment. Collectively.
By this, I mean:

People: Taking care not to forget where what I buy comes from. To keep in mind that many things are made with slave-labor. I make sure to buy organic and fairtrade when it's available, in order to support those people who provide me with what I enjoy. But it's not only in respect to food, it's also in respect to everything material (such as clothes, jewelry and electronics). One day, I would love for almost everything I own to be made with love, not blood and poverty.

Animals: I follow a whole foods, plant-based lifestyle. I am more or less vegan, but would rather refer to myself as the former (because labels). I have taken steps to educate myself of where the majority of animal-based foods come from, and the horrors therein. While I do not deny that animal-based foods can supply the body with important vitamins/minerals/nutrients, I also believe that those benefits are very difficult to reap in this era. I believe this because, even a few hundred years ago, there was not pollution on this scale, nor CAFOs, nor antibiotic misuse, nor animal torture on this scale. The animals back then were raised naturally, as they are supposed to, and they ate, drank, and breathed in air that was not polluted. Therefore, the benefit in eating them was substantial (also, people rarely ate meat all the time, not like now).

Because these things are difficult to replicate, I do not eat animals, and I avoid their byproducts (dairy, eggs, etc.). I believe a raw, organic diet of plants (especially vegetables) is the best one for me. I do not want to be a part of the ridiculous cruelty that ensues in CAFOS. Animal torture is not a "necessary evil". And by the way, all the animals people raise are contributing to climate change and pollution, whether you like to admit it or not. And no, it's not 'insignificant'; it's very much significant.

Environment: Geez, this is getting long. Basically, this one includes parts of what I said prior, and also just trying to do what I can to minimize my impact here on Earth. Meaning, trying to recycle if it's available, trying to avoid products with too much packaging, reusing stuff, etc. By not eating meat or animal products, I significantly minimize my impact (in one way). There's also other stuff to mention, like eating organic because the farmers (usually) take better care of their soil, and a lot of people don't know that soil is 'living,' and that mono-farming is very damaging to the environment and the insect populations.

Here's something you probably didn't know: The flower industry is one of the biggest users of pesticides, and they also terribly abuse their workers (most of the workers abused in the U.S. are immigrants, and that brings up a whole different issue that I should have addressed in the "People" section). So buying flowers for your loved ones is actually a terrible idea, as you expose them to high pesticide resides, and you propel the mistreatment of people (even if you didn't 'mean' to). Additionally, the flowers sold in places like Home Depot for your own personal garden, are sprayed beforehand with chemicals that kill bees (among other things), further adding to the problem that we already have (by the way, the dying-off of bees is very serious). These companies do not have to disclose this information to the consumer.


Most importantly, though, I stand for this: to not deny the atrocities of this world (against people, animals, the environment, etc.), or to belittle them, simply because they inconvenience me. A lot of people do this, and it's wrong.

 

[Treemo]

My standpoint on just about everything (save economy, because it is fundamentally impossible and it is a fool's dream to expect it) is equality and tolerance for all people and their beliefs, race, sex, gender, whatever. No one's rights should be lesser than others, and everyone should be free to do as they please so long as it doesn't present an actual, physical danger or infringe upon others' own rights.

Secondly, I stand for knowledge and openmindedness; we have endless opportunities to expand our own knowledge of the world around us, endless resources for it, and our capacity for learning, comprehension, and knowledge is what sets apart from all the other critters that call this mudball their home. And yet there are those who would try to oppress it, or simply shut themselves from it. And they are the ignorant, and it is the ignorant I detest. Everyone should make an effort to expand their understanding of the people and world around them, even if it doesn't necessarily coincide with their own morals or beliefs.

 

[Lysson]

• Equality for all genders/lack of/identification
• Firmly against animal cruelty
• Looking after the environment as much as is sensible
• Equality for all ages
• Equality for all races and nationalities
• Equality for homosexuals, bisexuals, heterosexuals, demisexuals, asexuals, pansexuals, ect

 

[ocelotlrama jaguar]

Equality and respect for all. Who the hell is anybody to treat another human being inferiorly just because they were born different?

 

[LordGarcholf]

I strongly stand for myself, animal rights, preserving the nature, and every individuals own right to create their ways of success (it's also a responsibility if you want to succeed, no-one else will do it for you but yourself). Also the ability to be ourselves despite of social pressure is true strength for me - you can't be true to others if you're not true to yourself first. Then you can turn your ideals into reality!

Also I stand for measurable order and justice, individual freedom and I'm not against equality either, but I support having order and hierarchy too. It'd just be based on different things than what they are in our world like wealth, loudness or social contacts and physical features etc. I think self-development, learning from own mistakes and taking responsibility of our own mistakes make a much better person (and a leader if we think of hierarchy) than being a jerk. Using your gifts, skills or power well is more important than just having them.
+ Having common understanding and common sense is important too, even when there's difference - gotta respect it.

About any other causes, religions or political views, I don't fully support any because if I did that, I'd want to see myself supporting it in long-term and fully - mostly I see people have a common habit going "too much" into them after having a little taste of that good and then they cause only harm. There's a line of "enough" for everything and if crossed, the good can turn into bad, people just don't always respect or see the line. Even a good cause or ideal won't justify your actions if they're radical.


I'll just save words if I put it into this form; "We all paint our lives with the colors we prefer, but if you dislike a color, would you throw it away and forbid its usage? Would you want to paint every day of your life with the same colors or instead, figure out if the color is useful in some situation too, despite of your values and preferences? (You can't get dark green if you throw away black - you can't mix lilac if you throw away red, but still have blue and white) It doesn't dismiss your personal preferences!"

Also, I stand strongly against thoughts that humanity makes us better or "more important" than other species or life-forms.

 

[CyberSerperior]

I usually only get up to eat or use the bathroom...

Jokes aside, I stand for equality and respect. If people had respect for themselves, others, and the environment, there'd be no problems. I also stand for originality and truth. I don't like liars and fakes. Be yourself, people. I stand strongly for friendship. I stand for love, empathy and understanding.

 

[GhostFingers]

As i'm reading this thread i'm listening to a compilation CD and a certain song comes on that seems appropriate. 'Under a Communist Moon' by The International Noise Conspiracy. Look it up.